A friend of mine hasn't had a raise in four years, so she asked me to find information about recent increases in cost of living. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an approximation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CPI doesn't exactly measure the true "cost of living." People may maintain their lifestyle and still spend the same amount by substituting products. For example, by replacing cheaper pork with more expensive beef. Also, "... a complete cost-of-living index would go beyond this to also take into account changes in other governmental or environmental factors that affect consumers' well-being. It is very difficult to determine the proper treatment of public goods, such as safety and education, and other broad concerns, such as health, water quality, and crime that would comprise a complete cost-of-living framework." So the CPI isn't a perfect measure, but it's close.

According to the site's CPI calculator, a $100 grocery basket today would have cost $13.55 in 1965. Four years ago, it would have cost $92.26.

If you're putting together a business plan, trying to market locally, or just want to see how geography is your destiny, check out MyBestSegments, a free service from Claritas. It includes U.S. market segmentation data that you can drill down by zip code to discover demographics and psychographics. "MyBestSegments encompasses a variety of categories about consumer markets, including travel, eating out, shopping, auto purchases and much more."It's just another way you can get inside your customers' heads to market more effectively, whether you're developing products and services, creating a marketing campaign or choosing media.

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